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LIONS AND BUTTERFLIES

THE PORTRAITS

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THE PORTRAITS ‘Lions And Butterflies’ RELEASE DATE: 2ND OCTOBER 2015 Sensorypulse Records Format: 1CD & Digital Download Cat # (SPCD006)

'TWO THOUSAND VOICES' FOLK BAND'S ROARING NEW D.I.Y. ALBUM

Independent alternative folk band The Portraits, who reached the iTunes chart in January with a charity song which featured the voices of two

THE PORTRAITS ‘Lions And Butterflies’ RELEASE DATE: 2ND OCTOBER 2015 Sensorypulse Records Format: 1CD & Digital Download Cat # (SPCD006)

'TWO THOUSAND VOICES' FOLK BAND'S ROARING NEW D.I.Y. ALBUM

Independent alternative folk band The Portraits, who reached the iTunes chart in January with a charity song which featured the voices of two thousand members of the British public, have announced the release of a new album which is 'home-made' in every sense of the term.

The band toured the UK in 2014 recording voices and collecting contributors' names for their single 'The Rest Of Time', whose aim was to increase numbers on the bone marrow donor registry. The record was championed by BBC Radio 2 and is one of eleven tracks on their new collection 'Lions And Butterflies' which the band have produced entirely by themselves, shunning studio time in favour of recording in vans, backstage at gigs and even on a ferry, on laptops and iPhones.

“Our music takes us on the road constantly” says singer and guitarist Lorraine Reilly Millington, “so it made sense for us to record our album on the move. Beautiful strings reverberate with the sounds of our lives, from birds outside the window, to door bells - you have to listen closely, but they are there. The new album is a heartfelt musical snapshot of who we are.”

The only time a studio was used was during the final mastering at London's Close To The Edge facility with renowned producer Jon Astley, famed for work with Eric Clapton and Deborah Harry.

With a recurring theme of the dominance over individuals by greater powers beyond their control, the new album’s lyrical content ranges from reflections on the legacy of the empirical actions of our ancestors to political oppression in Russia via a song about a personal battle with an anxiety disorder.

“This is the strongest music I've heard from The Portraits to date,” said DJ Tom Robinson on his BBC 6 Music show about 'The Rest Of Time', adding “it's always gratifying when musicians you meet and like turn out to make excellent music!”

www.theportraitsmusic.com www.facebook.com/theportraitsmusic

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COUNTERBALANCE

The Portraits

THE PORTRAITS: COUNTERBALANCE (13 track album) RELEASE DATE: 5TH NOVEMBER 2012, now free to those who sign The Portraits mailing list.

Sensorypulse Records Format: 1CD & Digital Download Cat # (SPCD004)

The Portraits’ hotly awaited new album Counterbalance was released on CD and download formats on 5th November following its successful launch

THE PORTRAITS: COUNTERBALANCE (13 track album) RELEASE DATE: 5TH NOVEMBER 2012, now free to those who sign The Portraits mailing list.

Sensorypulse Records Format: 1CD & Digital Download Cat # (SPCD004)

The Portraits’ hotly awaited new album Counterbalance was released on CD and download formats on 5th November following its successful launch at an exclusive concert at The Forge, Camden, London on 27th September. The new 13-track collection is a melting pot of impassioned lyrics, vibrant orchestral textures and richly layered vocals, and has been dubbed the “Justice Album” as it includes songs about the attempts to silence Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, women’s battle to be judged by their ideas and not their appearance and the way in which religion can create more fear than it heals.

“We’ve been lucky to visit parts of the world that the west has almost forgotten,” explains songwriter Jeremy, “and we’ve seen what a raw deal some people get…I guess this has given us a ‘fairness gauge’ which inspires us to write about things that we think are unjust.”

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OUR OTHER ALBUMS

LIFE IN SEPIA, 10-track CD album (2013) £10 incl international shipping
  • LIFE IN SEPIA, 10-track CD album (2013) £10 incl international shipping
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£10.00

THE PORTRAITS: LIFE IN SEPIA Release date: Monday 2nd December 2013 10 songs, CD and download versions

The ideal Xmas present: Limited edition hand-made CD package with vinyl effect disk, brown paper cover hand-tied with cotton twine.

Each purchase with cover autographed, and at no extra cost, personally dedicated by hand to the addressee, with a message of your choice, and signed by the Portraits (details of the dedication must be sent with your name and details of your order to sensorypulse@gmail.com at the time of purchase). If you buy the CD, you will also have access to the download at no extra cost.

If you want us to, and at no extra cost, we can gift wrap the package and deliver in time for Christmas to a person of your choice with a personal message from you to them attached (full details of your message and addressee, as well as your name and order details to be emailed to sensorypulse@gmail.com at the time of purchase).

Life In Sepia is a fantastic new collection of 10 intimate acoustic songs, some previewed over the last year on our Facebook page, but now professionally recorded, mixed and mastered and available for the very first time together on an album.

Including the Christmas single, The Portraits’ version of Greg Lake’s classic “I Believe In Father Xmas”

"A blooming gorgeous collection...moving lyrics and choiry vocals guaranteed to hurtle you into the Xmas spirit. A must for your stocking" Folksphere

Tracklisting: 01 Small World Anthem 02 India’s Daughter 03 Malala 04 Cape Blues 05 Affinity 06 Silence Is Deafening 07 Trading Miracles 08 Difference 09 Return 10 I Believe In Father Xmas

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THE BLUSHING OF A WORLD IN WHITE (2010)  *£10 including postage to anywhere in the world*
  • THE BLUSHING OF A WORLD IN WHITE (2010)  *£10 including postage to anywhere in the world*
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£10.00

The Portraits' simple observations of adult life from the perspective of those that have loved, lost, travelled, had children and laughed about it all, make for a cosy brand of acoustic pop with beautiful harmonies and folk and world music tinges.

"The Blushing Of A World In White" is the album the Millingtons have been waiting years to write. An ensemble of 12 alternately heartbreaking and witty songs about real lives built around haunting piano lines, raw strings, orchestral instruments, ethnic voices and percussion, and most notably, the duo's trademark vocals, near choral in style, layered and pained in harmony with a distinctive nod to the 70s, Brian Wilson and Clannad. This is the culmination of a decade's songwriting partnership and a life-time of shared experiences.

Along with a larger band of string players, sax and percussionist, a remarkable Spanish vocalist, Belen Martin Miguez, joins The Portraits on certain dates during their forthcoming tour, bringing to their live set a new worldy flavour, as well as cowriting and singing on several songs on the album.

"The Portraits blend sophistication with simplicity; a classical mien with modern mores on The Blushing Of A World In White. Infused with musical and rhythmic influences drawn from at least four continents, The Portraits create thought-provoking works of art in song. The Blushing Of A World In White doesn't so much mark a change for The Portraits as it does the next step in their inevitable development. The create force majeure comprised of Lorraine Reilly and Jeremy Millington is destined to never rest in their search for new creative avenues in music. It's for that reason that The Portraits always sound fresh and inspired. This is a must-have album."
WILDY'S WORLD, May 2010

THE CD VERSION COMES IN AN IMPRESSIVE DIGIPAK WITH FULL COLOUR REMOVABLE 12 page BOOKLET WITH PHOTOGRAPHY AND ARTWORK SPECIALLY CREATED BY LORRAINE

TRACKLISTING
01 The Writer (4:35)
02 Strong (5:12)
03 Undo (3:24)
04 Only Our Friends We Choose (5:31)
05 Liberty (5:11)
06 Queens Of Ice (3:30)
07 Our Time (3:53)
08 I Am Made Queen (3:23)
09 Colours (4:27)
10 Click Click Click (4:13)
11 Bago Girl (3:45)
12 Old Stone Table (6:15)

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TIMESCAPE (2008) *£10 including postage to anywhere in world*
  • TIMESCAPE (2008) *£10 including postage to anywhere in world*
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£10.00

'Timescape', the 2nd CD album by The Portraits, released 9th February 2009, followed a thrilling worldwind period working in Cape Town with local South African musicians, renowned studio wizard Simon 'Fuzzy' Ratcliffe, and contributions from Portishead side-kick Pete Judge on brass. The colourful follow up to the duo's critically acclaimed first album 'Kin' (2006) blends the choiry feel of the duo's trademark vocal arrangements with an electronic worldiness, and a new instrumental flavour emanating from the inclusion of cellos, giant African percussion troups, ethnic flutes...and just the odd smattering of Bristolian trumpetting. The result may hint at a Brian Wilson wall of vocals and the honest song writing style of the likes of Ben Folds or Heather Nova, but a uniquely Portraits-ish tapestry of cellos, flutes, trumpets, electronics and world instruments ensures that the new album is a curiously intoxicating and unique listen.

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KIN (2006) *£10 including postage to anywhere in world*
  • KIN (2006) *£10 including postage to anywhere in world*
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£10.00

'Kin' is the debut album from the Anglo-Irish songwriting partners. Its 11 highly personal songs use colourful acoustic arrangements and choir-like vocals to present various takes on family, ambition and bereavement. With lyrics at times humerous and at others painfully reflective, this is adult pop with a distinctly theatrical edge.

“The Portraits, who are a song-writing duo from the British Isles, have a very slick and smooth sound that I’ve been finding personally very addictive.…there’s a very warm English breeze that wafts through their music…their vocals work together in such a pleasant-sounding way, that before you know it, you’ve become so completely engrossed in them.”
From http://itsnotthebandihateitstheirfans.blogspot.com

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The Portraits Jute Bag
  • The Portraits Jute Bag
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£5.00

The Portraits' Jute Bag - a surprise hit at the "For Our Times" album launch weekend, end September 2019, where they were flying off the shelves along with our CDs and Vinyls!

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